The Wild Coast

The Wild Coast runs roughly from the Kei River to the Mtamvuna, and what defines it is an absence: there is no coastal road. The N2 stays inland and every beach, headland and river mouth is reached down its own dead-end spur, often gravel and often long, which is why the coast has stayed rural. Rolling green hills carry scattered Xhosa homesteads painted turquoise and white, cattle graze to the cliff edge, and rivers come down through forest to meet the sea in wide lagoons. It is walked more than driven: multi-day hikes link villages and backpackers, with river crossings by ferryman or by wading, and hikers stay in community-run huts. The name is older than tourism - this coast wrecked a great many ships, and some of those wrecks are landmarks. Facilities are thin, the going is slow, and that combination is the whole appeal.

History

The coast, from East London to the border of KwaZulu-Natal, is the traditional home of the Gcaleka, Thembu, Mpondo and Bomvana peoples of the Xhosa nation (Wikipedia, Wild Coast Region, Eastern Cape).

Highlights

• The missing coastal road - every beach reached by its own long dead-end spur.
• The hill homesteads - painted rondavels and cattle on green slopes above cliffs.
• The multi-day walks - village-to-village hiking with river crossings by ferry or wading.
• The wrecks - a coastline named for the ships it took.

When to go

April to June and September to November. Four to seven days for a proper hike; less for one village.

Before you go

Spur roads are long, rough and often need clearance; distances take twice as long as they look. Signal, fuel and shops are scarce. Rivers can be unfordable after rain. Much land is community-owned - arrange access and guides locally rather than assuming.

Nearby

Coffee Bay and Hole in the Wall are on the middle stretch; Port St Johns is north.

Key facts